Camden Catholic High School senior Kyle Green staying focused on the court

Camden Catholic’s Kyle Green (left) passes the ball past Penns Grove’s Garrett Wilson during a game last week. The senior will continue his career next year at Temple. (Lori M. Nichols)

WOOLWICH TWP. — Camden Catholic High School’s Kyle Green was focused on playing basketball last year.

And visiting potential colleges.

And talking to college coaches.

And wondering what college to attend.

This season, though, the Woodbury Heights resident is focused only on playing basketball. Green, a 6-foot-5 forward, is able to steer his full attention to the Fighting Irish after orally committing to attend and continue his hoops career at Temple and officially signing a letter of intent in November.

The only college he has visited this winter is Temple and the only college coach he has talked to is Owls head coach Fran Dunphy.

And it’s just the way he wanted it heading into his final scholastic season.

“It was a hectic process and I wanted to make my decision before the season got under way,” Green said after scoring 17 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and handing out seven assists in a 59-52 win over Penns Grove last week at the MLK Showcase at Kingsway. “I wanted to get it out of the way and play basketball.

“Last year I had a lot of coaches coming to watch me. Coaches were calling and a lot of stuff was going through my head. Now I know where I am going and it’s out of the way and I can just concentrate on basketball.”

The distractions didn’t seem to bother him at all on the court. Green led South Jersey in scoring with a 22.7 points per game average last year.

Even though Green’s scoring is slightly down to 19.7 points per game, he is developing into a more all-around player this season. His assists and rebounds are up, his defense has improved and Green is stronger in other areas as well.

He is also closing in on the school’s all-time scoring record.

“As good as he is, he is one of the best players I have ever coached and I am amazed he is getting better every time out,” said Irish head coach Jim Crawford, who won his 700th game earlier this month. “He has a thirst to learn and hangs on to every word you say. He is demanding of himself and demanding of his teammates. And he sets the tone with great leadership.”

Green is already getting a taste of life as an Owl, too, by attending two games and two practices. After games he has gone into the Temple locker room and gotten advice from his future teammates, and watching a pair of practices has been invaluable.

“I am watching Khalif Wyatt, T.J. Dileo (who graduated from Cinnaminson) and guys like Dalton Pepper. They are teaching me how to play the perimeter and how to play the right way and dealing with pressure,” Green said. “I have been talking a lot to Wyatt because he is getting a lot of attention from defenses, double teams and stuff like that. I am learning from him how to be a better teammate and trying to get everyone involved and do the best for our team.”

As a top talent and high-profile player in the Olympic Conference and South Jersey, Green typically draws a crowd every game. He saw double and triple teams against the Red Devils, but what he has learned from Crawford, Dunphy and the Owls players is to stop trying to force a shot and instead dish off to an open teammate. Thus, his seven assists against Penns Grove.

“Dunphy preaches that a lot. I see them do that and I am trying to incorporate that into my game,” Green said. “If you get double-teamed, find the open guy and make the right decision.”

When attending Owls games or practices, Green can’t help but fast forward to next year and see himself wearing an Owls jersey and playing in the Big East — where the Owls are moving to next season. However, he doesn’t know what position he’ll play yet. Most likely it will be guard.

The same question was on the mind of one of his opponents last Monday.

“He’s a good player and it was great to play against him, but I was wondering where he’ll play in college,” Penns Grove’s Dominique Ware said. “He could play guard but also small forward. Even though he is small, he has a big body and is strong.”

If that is the only thing Green has to even think about other than trying to lead the Irish deep into the playoffs, he’ll take it after a busy season off the court last year.

“I had a lot of coaches calling me but Coach Dunphy and I developed a real relationship,” Green said. “Then we hit it off as soon as we met each other. And from there we just built a great relationship.”